Introduction to Plate Tectonics

Plate Tectonics

An Introduction

There was once a time when you could take a stroll from North or South America to Africa no problem!

Plate tectonics theorizes that Earth's outer layer is made up of large, moving pieces called plates! These plates are in constant motion.

Multiple Choice

About how fast do you think the tectonic plates move?

• As fast as students leave school at the end of the day

• As fast as your nails grow

• As fast as you can run

Tectonic plates move about as fast as your fingernails grow -

That's 1-6 inches a year!

These plates move due to heat from Earth's core.

• Heat rises at spreading centers, pushing plates apart

• This process resulted in the breakup of Pangea, the formation of the Atlantic Ocean, and how Earth's surface appears today!

Multiple Choice

What do you think happens when two plates converge (collide)?

• Mountains form

• A trench forms

• They change course and move somewhere else

Through collisions, plates can raise incredible mountain ranges!

The Himalayan mountains formed as the Indian plate crashed into the Eurasian plate.

Multiple Choice

What's the smartest mountain in the world?

• Mount Cleverest

Multiple Choice

Which mountain range (hint: it is close to home!) also formed due to the collision of plates?

• The Andes

• The Appalachians

• The Cascades

• The Transantarctic Mountains

That's right! Next time you hike in Shenandoah National Park, know that you are among mountains that started forming over 400 million years ago (that's before life even left the ocean!).

Thank you!

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